Self Pleasure is a sin - the simple explanation.

[faster_jackrabbit]

Just out of curiosity what is the concept of sin in your opinion. Feel free to send me the answer via pm if you think it will side track the thread. I don't plan on debating your view with you I'm just interested.

Depends on how you mean it. If it is just a word meaning immoral behavior, fine. However, it christian dogma it is usually referred to as if it is some sort of discrete thing that seems to have an existence of its own. "Sin was loosed into the world", "in the beginning the world was without sin" and so on.

I don't believe in the concept of "sin", just human behavior that is moral, immoral, or neutral.

 

[SergeAStrom]

Insane statements. Well, you asked for my thoughts on the OP.

 

[MillionPieces]

Well, I have heard of bodybuilders who masturbated thinking about themselves.

What?
So I'm the only one here with lipstick on the bathroom mirror? Heh

 

[ebia]

I don't agree with you. The Bible tells us that lust is wrong and if people can't contain it they should marry. So if you're single, you have to suppress such urges.

So the bible acknowledges that not everyone can contain their lusts, and provides an opt out for some who can't but not others? That doesn't make a lot of sense really, especially when the opt out (get married quick and young) can lead to far more serious harm than what it's supposed to avoid.

However the Bible also tells us that suicide is wrong and that God can forgive us any sin if we truly repent. If any teenager has killed him/herself because of guilt relating to self abuse I think that's a terrible tragedy because God with his immense love had already forgiven them for what they'd done.

So the church's job is to make people feel guilty, but absolve itself from the consequences of that by saying "... but you were forgiven...".

There are many things our baser instincts might tempt us to do, not just sexually, and the Bible is there to tell us that there is a higher purpose to life than simply to pursue our own selfish inclinations...

The trouble is, getting married for sex (which the bible apprently encourages) is persuing our own selfish inclinations, and doing it in a potentially far more harmful way.

 

[tocis]

What?
So I'm the only one here with lipstick on the bathroom mirror? Heh

Now that would be a weird way indeed of pleasuring yourself...

Sorry couldn't resist

 

[imperfectchristian]

When I was a teenage Christian, I used to freak out that masturbation was a sin. Once I experienced sex, masturbation became little more than just a sexual tension and stress reliever.

The more you do it, the more your sexual appetite will grow....so if your trying to keep yourself till marriage, then I suggest keeping it to a absolute minimum.

P.S. I still touch being married. Once you get a little older you realize to lighten up on yourself and that everyone is human.

I would say just make sure you control your sexual desire instead of it controlling you, but I am really one to talk, I can hardly say no to an attractive woman.

 

[Vedant]

Why does this topic ALWAYS come up?

 

[Jacob4Jesus]

So you are saying that god makes something a sin not because it causes harm, but because it might cause harm.

So therefore driving a car is a sin because you might run over someone.

I was presenting a situation that would explain why there has to be a point behind something being a sin. My example was not stated to be anything that was necessarily true or not. You seemed to have, yet again, missed the entire point of my post.

 

[Marie D]

So the bible acknowledges that not everyone can contain their lusts, and provides an opt out for some who can't but not others? That doesn't make a lot of sense really, especially when the opt out (get married quick and young) can lead to far more serious harm than what it's supposed to avoid.



So the church's job is to make people feel guilty, but absolve itself from the consequences of that by saying "... but you were forgiven...".


The trouble is, getting married for sex (which the bible apprently encourages) is persuing our own selfish inclinations, and doing it in a potentially far more harmful way.

No, the Bible provides an 'opt out', as you call it, for all of us - we can either contain our lust or marry. I don't see why marrying young is such a bad thing, I was 17 when I married and my husband and I are really happy.

I don't believe the job of the Church is to make people feel guilty but to spread the word of God. As part of this mission it offers us guidance on how to live but also reassures us that through repentance, and thanks to the sacrifice of the Lord's own son, we are forgiven our sins.

Of course I understand what you're saying, that it's wrong to get married just for sex. We marry because we love someone so much that we can't imagine life without them and because we want to give pleasure to them, not receive it and bring new lives into the world.

 

[englishrayne]

God's told us everything we need to know for living the Christian life in the Bible.

In the Bible, there's sins listed, clearly. Masturbation isn't listed. Onan wasn't punished for pleasuring himself, he was punished for disobeying God's direct order to impregnate the woman.

Masturbation, in and of itself has no negative consequences to your body or to other people. Nor do you have to lust to touch. If lust or addictive damaging behavior is a factor, it should be dealt with, but that's no more the fault of masturbation than it is of sexual intercourse, or gluttony is the fault of food.

That's my take on the matter.

 

[moogoob]

The way I consider it, the act of masturbation is probably the best way to contain lustful thoughts, or at least let off steam. Keeps you clear-minded.

 

[Paulos23]

I have seen big, long posts about why self pleasure is a sin going as far as endless Bible qoutes. All of that is good, but I recently came to a very simplified conclussion.

1. Self pleasure is to have sex with your self.
2. Premarrital sex is a sin.
3. Self pleasure is a sin, since it's effectively premarrital sex.
4. Wait until you're married!

Thoughts?

1. Never really considered this a sin. It can help with the others.

2. It never hurts to try it out first.

3. Umm...this is just playing with deffinitions here. Sex with self is so different then sex with other that equating the two seams silly.

4. Don't personally agree with this, but I do agree with holding off having sex with your partner as long as you can. It helps to make for a better relasonship and makes sure it is not based off of sexual attraction.

 

[TheDag]

Like I said, what that inevitably ends up doing "is to make people feel guilty, but absolve itself from the consequences of that by saying "... but you were forgiven..."."

If this happens it is a problem with the individual. I say that because one only feels guilty if one thinks they have done something wrong. I have heard talks in churches condemning something that I do but I didn't feel guilty because I disagreed with them about it being wrong.

 

[spinto]

I have seen big, long posts about why self pleasure is a sin going as far as endless Bible qoutes. All of that is good, but I recently came to a very simplified conclussion.

1. Self pleasure is to have sex with your self.
2. Premarrital sex is a sin.
3. Self pleasure is a sin, since it's effectively premarrital sex.
4. Wait until you're married!

Thoughts?

From a Christian point of view... Yeah well, if it says it's a sin, it's a sin.

But I think Christianity is wrong most of the time.

I think self pleasure is essential to your sexual health "if" you feel the need. Even when you are married. I feel it is very unhealthy to exclusively have sex with your spouce an not explore your sexuality in the form of self pleasure, if you feel the need. Sometimes you need to be by yourself and experience arousal, and just give yourself a chance to "be sexual".

Masturbation relieves stress, lowers cholesteral, conditions the prostate gland, conditions a "woman's parts".... the benefits go on and on.

Whats more, is that masturbation is a natural need that most of us have. Denying it makes people rather uptight at best and sexually disfuctional at worst.

 

[spinto]

As a christian I am happy for christians to believe masturbation is a sin and therefore for them to abstain from it. i however don't agree with that and don't believe the bible says that. The bible does say though that if you think something is wrong then it is a sin for you to do that. So from a christian perspective it can be wrong for some people but not for all. I'm happy to let people have their opinion as long as they don't start calling me a sinner for it.

I agree.

 

[quatona]

I have seen big, long posts about why self pleasure is a sin going as far as endless Bible qoutes. [/quoite]
Am I right in assuming that you mean masturbation when saying "self-pleasure"?

All of that is good, but I recently came to a very simplified conclussion.

Whenever someone announces simplified conclusions, I am alarmed.

Self pleasure is to have sex with your self.

That entirely depends on the definition of sex you apply. I´m sure it´s not hard to find a definition that fits your purposes, but so far that would only be a semantics problem.

Premarrital sex is a sin.

Says who? Certainly not the bible, which doesn´t use the word "sex" at all. Since everything depends on your definition of sex (see above), and since this word is not in your holy book (instead there are merely moral statements about interpersonal sexual activities), you have been trapped by your own false equivocation.

Self pleasure is a sin, since it's effectively premarrital sex.

Since step2 was already fallacious, the conclusion is not valid.
Besides, if anything, you would have merely shown that premarital masturbation is "sin".

Wait until you're married!

Thanks for your advice.

Thoughts?

Logic can be a tricky thing, and semantics don´t replace it.

 

[MillionPieces]

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I just wanted to add one last comment...
My brother was talking about how recent studies say that touching yourself is linked to mental illness...

99% of men touch, the 1% that don't have no arms. If masturbation is a sin, all men will go to hell.

If both these statistics are true, then that means that 99% of men are off their rocker!

 

[kopilo]

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I just wanted to add one last comment...
My brother was talking about how recent studies say that touching yourself is linked to mental illness...
If both these statistics are true, then that means that 99% of men are off their rocker!

Well it's not like men are able to claim they have a time of the month, so we have to make up for the crazyness of it.

 

[FadingWhispers3]

1. Self pleasure is to have sex with your self.
2. Premarrital sex is a sin.
3. Self pleasure is a sin, since it's effectively premarrital sex.
4. Wait until you're married!

---------------------------
By that logic, self-pleasure isn't a sin if you wait until after marriage. Or is it then adultery? But that couldn't be the case, since man and women become one flesh?

 

[kopilo]

*deleted* quoted text no longer existed on CF.